Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents press Connellsville council on failing retaining wall, drainage and snow removal
Summary
At the Feb. 17 Connellsville City Council meeting residents urged the city to help with a collapsed retaining wall that has damaged a neighbor’s fence and garage, raised repeated drainage and sidewalk hazards near Catherine’s Jewelry, and asked for clearer action on snow removal and ADA access during winter storms.
Several Connellsville residents used the council’s public-comment period on Feb. 17 to press for city help with recurring public-safety and property problems.
Lance Virgin, a homeowner who said his property on East Gibson Avenue has been damaged by a failing retaining wall at the adjacent rental property on Francis Avenue, showed photos and said the wall’s collapse has shifted dirt and timber onto his land, removed roughly 30 feet of his fence and threatens his garage. He told council that a Widmer Engineering letter concluded the slope was stable but that code enforcement had not followed through on remediation, and he sought the city’s assistance delivering or confirming an access letter that would let contractors come on-site to remove debris and make repairs.
Mayor Greg Lincoln and council members framed the complaint as primarily a civil dispute—code enforcement could enforce visible code violations but could not compel a private property owner to build a retaining structure. The solicitor and code enforcement staff told Virgin the city could deliver a written notice or, if the property owner refuses to act, his remaining recourse would be to pursue a civil suit in magistrate court. Council offered to drop off any written access letter the complainant could provide so the Better family could be formally notified.
A different public commenter who identified herself as the operator of Catherine’s Jewelry on Carnegie and East Crawford Avenue told council that repaving and new ADA ramps have altered guttering so that stormwater now runs across her sidewalk and into the ramp, cracking a block on her building and lifting the sidewalk. She said prior city attempts to route the water with a small pipe from a PA American Water effort clogged with debris and no longer functions.
Public works foreman Jimmy and others said the cause could be PennDOT road grading or PA American’s prior work and recommended the city contact PA American and PennDOT to investigate; the city agreed to follow up and report back. Council discussed options including lowering the road, milling and repaving, or reconfiguring ramps, but warned that ADA compliance and PennDOT standards might constrain what the city can change without state approval.
Multiple speakers and council members raised the larger winter-maintenance issue: narrow streets, blocked parking and vehicles left on roadways hampered plow operations. Mayor Lincoln said police will begin tagging trailers and oversized vehicles parked on city streets under the existing ordinance; owners would have five days to remove them before a citation and tow. The mayor reminded residents of a long-standing 24-hour sidewalk-shoveling rule and said city enforcement will be stepped up after upcoming storms.
The council staff and code enforcement reiterated their position that many of the disputes sound like civil matters between private owners but that the city will assist with notification, regulatory follow-up and referrals to relevant agencies. If property owners refuse to act, officials said, the next step for residents may be private legal action.
